PARIS–The road to eurozone renewal envisioned by French President Emmanuel Macron won’t be a speedy autobahn.

At meetings between French and German officials in Paris as German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited for the first time since her re-election, officials stated their differences on key planks for rebuilding the eurozone’s architecture. They pledged to come up with a “road map” for overhauling the currency bloc in June.

“We are not always of the same opinion, but Germany and France have already achieved many things together,” Ms. Merkel said. She added she is “firmly determined” to achieve more. Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »

Philippe Aghion is a professor at the Collège de France and at the London School of Economics, and a fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Benedicte Berner is a lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, chair of Civil Rights Defenders, and an associate at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Mar 7, 2018Philippe Aghion , Benedicte Berner, Project Syndicate

French President Emmanuel Macron has drawn fire for his pro-growth economic reforms, which some critics have characterized as giveaways to corporations and the wealthy. But, when considered in full, Macron’s agenda is clearly aimed at reducing inequality and boosting social mobility.

PARIS – Since eliminating a wealth tax and imposing a flat tax on capital gains, French President Emmanuel Macron opponents have quite maliciously compared him to US President Donald Trump, who slashed taxes for the wealthiest Americans in December. Some of his harshest critics even refer to Macron as a “president for the rich.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Viewed in full, Macron’s reform agenda offers a new and promising approach to tackling inequality and social immobility in France. And, at any rate, the United States and France are hardly comparable on these issues. Although income inequality has increased in France since 1990, it remains well below that of other developed countries. Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »

His seemingly never-ending handshake with Donald Trump may have attracted the most attention. But beyond the headlines, French President Emmanuel Macron is changing his country’s role in the world.

Emmanuel Macron Takes On the World

It was back in November, on Armistice Day in France, the day on which the end
of World War I is celebrated, when Vésuve de Brekka trotted up the Champs-Élysées in a steady rain with French President Emmanuel Macron. Not quite two months later, he then accompanied Macron to Beijing, where the nine-year-old gelding ended up in a paddock in a Beijing suburb — quarantined in conformance with the regulations.

The horse was the gift Macron brought along for his first state visit to China.At the banquet held in his honor, Macron presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with a photograph of the beautiful animal taken in the stalls belonging to the Republican Guard in France. Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »

New leader is revamping labor laws, co-opting opposition political parties and dividing union leaders. The question now is whether his free-market blitz will stick.

PARIS—Weeks before President Emmanuel Macron took office, a business leader confronted him about his plans to sidestep Parliament and pass a sweeping overhaul of the country’s labor system by decree. Even in the middle of World War I, the business leader said, French presidents had sought the approval of Parliament.

Mr. Macron brushed him off. “He believes what people want are results, not debates,”the businessman said.

Eight months into his term, Mr. Macron has placed the exercise of unfettered executive power at the center of his presidency. From Jacques Chirac to François Hollande, presidents have long played the role of referee in French democracy. They have governed by consensus—settling disputes among factions in Parliament, shuffling their cabinets to forge or renew political alliances, and weighing in to calm tumultuous street protests.

Carl Bildt was Sweden’s foreign minister from 2006 to October 2014 and Prime Minister from 1991 to 1994, when he negotiated Sweden’s EU accession. A renowned international diplomat, he served as EU Special Envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Special Envoy to the Balkans, and Co-Chairman of the Dayton Peace Conference. He is Chair of the Global Commission on Internet Governance and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Europe.

Dec 13, 2017Carl Bildt, Project Syndicate

The European Union’s political and economic outlook improved dramatically in 2017, following a year in which the bloc reeled from the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s election in the United States. But European leaders must not become complacent in 2018, or the EU could be thrown into crisis yet again the following year.

STOCKHOLM – At the start of 2017, many feared that the European project would experience a near-breakdown within the next year. The United Kingdom had decided to leave the European Union, the United States had elected a president who cheered the Brexiteers on, and populists running in the French and German elections posed a clear danger to European integration.

As we approach the start of 2018, the picture is very different. The European project has not only survived, but may be gaining new momentum. At least within the bubble of EU institutions in Brussels, one senses a newfound confidence.Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »

With America AWOL and China ascendant, this is a critical time for Germany and the European Union to provide the world with vision, stability, and global leadership. And that imperative extends to Germany’s Christian Democrats and Social Democrats.

NEW YORK – Friends of Germany and Europe around the world have been breathing a sigh of relief at the newfound willingness of Germany’s Christian Democrats and Social Democrats (SPD) to discuss reprising their grand coalition government. The world needs a strong and forward-looking Germany in a dynamic European Union. A new grand coalition working alongside French President Emmanuel Macron’s government would make that possible.

The SPD’s initial decision to go into opposition after its poor election result in September may have been sincere, and even strategically sound. But it is not timely. Diplomacy almost everywhere is fractured.

The United States is reckoning with a psychologically unstable president, a plutocratic cabinet, and a Republican congressional majority. Europe is in the throes of multiple economic, social, political, and institutional crises. China, by contrast, is dynamic and outward-looking – providing good reason for the EU to assume vigorous leadership and engage in constructive partnerships with China on key initiatives (such as sustainable infrastructure across Eurasia). Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »